Hexagon acquires CADS Additive

Hexagon AB, a global leader in digital reality solutions combining sensor, software, and autonomous technologies, has completed its acquisition of CADS Additive GmbH, a fast-growing provider of specialized software that helps companies prepare designs for metal additive manufacturing.

CADS Additive simplifies the process of 3D printing on powder bed fusion (PBF) machines. The software guides users through the build preparation, helping them turn design files into printer instructions and improve their manufacturing productivity.

CADS Additive has been a partner of Hexagon since 2021 – integrating its build preparation and support structure creation capabilities with Hexagon’s market-leading Simufact Additive process simulation software. Shared development roadmaps will further improve workflows, allowing users to adjust the orientation and support structure of their 3D prints. This will help shorten the AM workflow and provide easy-to-follow steps to mitigate quality implications caused by orientation or support structure changes.

The AM Studio software from CADS Additive is already connected to Hexagon’s Nexus digital reality platform. The software will complete Hexagon’s Nexus-enabled AM workflow – applying its extensive technology portfolio to CAD model preparation, build preparation, simulation-based optimizations, quality and production intelligence, and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) automation to finish parts.

“Our investments reflect the growing importance of additive manufacturing, which has huge potential but has been held back by a fragmented ecosystem that means manufacturers are not getting the results they need fast enough. The acquisition of CADS Additive enables us to provide our customers with integrated tools that empower manufacturing teams to reduce waste and increase efficiency as they move from prototyping to production,” said Paolo Guglielmini, President and CEO of Hexagon. “Opening up the Nexus platform to our ecosystem partners and providing building blocks like CADS Additive helps customers improve their processes throughout the manufacturing value chain and realize the potential of industrial additive manufacturing.”

Founded in 2016, and headquartered in Perg, Austria, CADS Additive GmbH has 21 employees serving 150 customers, in 25 countries, through 19 resellers. The company will operate as part of Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division. The acquisition reportedly has no significant impact on Hexagon’s earnings.